Advanced BioFuels USA

by Lindsay Brooke  (SAE International)  Raising the octane level of pump gasoline in the U.S. is integral to optimizing advanced combustion engines now in development, said GM and Hondaexecutives at the 2016 CAR Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI. Their comments prompted positive but non-committal comments from Chris Grundler, Director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality for the U.S. EPA.

During a panel discussion on future powertrains, Dan Nicholson, VP of Global Propulsion Systems at GM, and Robert Bienenfeld, Assistant VP of Environment and Energy Strategy at American Honda, agreed that the industry must push for a higher fuel-octane “floor” in the U.S.

“Higher octane fuels are the cheapest CO2 reduction on a well-to-wheels analysis,” Nicholson told panel moderator Brett Smith of CAR. “Fuels and engines must be designed as a total system. It makes absolutely no sense to have fuel out of the mix” of engine-technology discussions, he asserted.

Nicholson added that higher-octane, purpose-designed fuels “can be delivered very cost effectively.” A U.S. Dept. of Energy analysis proved the benefit of higher octane levels in improving combustion efficiency and reducing engine-out CO2, he said.

Honda’s Bienenfeld pointed out the benefits of higher fuel octane levels on advanced turbocharged engines operating under high-load conditions and in large-vehicle applications. He noted that boosted gas engines, hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles are on the future-development path at Honda. Nicholson touted the trend toward higher Otto cycle  compression ratios and said his engineering teams are looking at Miller cycle combustion, in conjunction with turbocharging, “earning its way into the portfolio.”

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EPA’s Grundler, speaking at MBS later in the day, noted that his agency is participating in the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Optima project studying future fuels and has a working group focused on gasoline octane. “Fuel changes are not part of the TAR [Technology Assessment Report, part of the Mid-term Review of the current CAFE regulations],” he said, while suggesting that higher octane levels be considered for after 2025 “as long as increasing octane levels do not increase greenhouse-gas emissions.”

The Optima project aims at developing co-optimized fuels with a range of new engines for light-, medium-, and heavy vehicle use.

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Mazda’s Skyactiv program is progressing through G1, G2, and G3 development stages toward a marriage of Otto and Diesel cycle characteristics. READ MORE and MORE (Advanced Biofuels USA)